Taking a pair of shutout wins in their first two postseason games, Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars softball team is hungry for more.
The girls kicked off the campaign with a 15-0 rout of Orestimba in Division V action, shutting out the visiting Lady Warriors on Wednesday, May 17.
Escalon, by virtue of getting the top seed, got to host the first round game and used the home field to its full advantage. Pitcher Chardae Hoskins walked one, allowed two hits and struck out five in five innings of work to record the shutout. She also went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI on the day.
“Mackenzie Duval was 3-for-3 with an RBI, Arabella Strach was 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a home run over the right field fence,” said head coach Art Brooks. “Hannah Boyd went 3-for-4, Haley Boyd was 2-for-2, and we had Molly Brown, Madison Kimble, Hailie Webster and Morgan Reider all with hits.”
Escalon got three runs in the second, eight in the third and four in the fourth on the way to the win.
“It was a run shortened, five-inning game,” Brooks noted of the contest.
Orestimba never mounted much of a threat and Escalon was able to take advantage of several scoring opportunities, getting the timely hits when they needed them.
On Saturday, the girls headed to Arnaiz Softball Complex in Stockton for a game against Bear River, this time battling to a 4-0 victory.
Again it was Hoskins on the mound, this time going seven full innings, allowing two walks and five hits. But the big number was 15; the number of strikeouts she registered against the opponent.
“We also ran into a pitcher that was tough,” noted Brooks. “We only had five hits total.”
Escalon managed to scratch out a single run in the first, one in the second and two in the fifth.
“Chardae was 2-for-2 with two RBI, Mackenzie was 2-for-2 with an RBI, Ashley Duval had a hit and Molly had a fielder’s choice RBI,” Brooks said of getting the runs needed to take the contest.
Escalon and Ripon are both currently 2-0 in the postseason tournament and they were scheduled to meet up on Tuesday, May 23 in a 5 p.m. contest after The Times went to press. The tournament is now essentially a two-game elimination tournament, Brooks explained, with Escalon, Ripon and Mariposa, the top three seeds, battling for the Section crown. The championship series is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start on Wednesday, May 24 at Arnaiz with a second game, if necessary, at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday to crown the softball section champion.
